On Feb 21, 12:18 am, Mark Kent <mark.k...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>
>
>
>
>
> > ____/ Tom Shelton on Wednesday 20 February 2008 16:32 : \____
>
> >> On 2008-02-20, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >>> ____/ Linonut on Wednesday 20 February 2008 12:36 : \____
>
> >>>> * Roy Schestowitz peremptorily fired off this memo:
>
> >>>>> ____/ RonB on Wednesday 20 February 2008 06:37 : \____
>
> >>>>>> Tim Smith wrote:
>
> >>>>>>> There's an interesting article over at Ars Technica about what HD-DVD
> >>>>>>> should have done different. One of the points is that they should have
> >>>>>>> included more DRM. Several studios, including Fox and Lionsgate, went
> >>>>>>> with Blu-Ray because it has more DRM.
>
> >>>>> Once again the Microsoft shill, Tim Smith, advocates DVD on behalf of a
> >>>>> company that admittedly loves it so much.
>
> >>>> Roy! Snap out of it! You're so on edge you used the wrong acronym!
> >>>> <grin>
>
> >>> Oops. Typo/slip. DRM it should have been. I didn't reread it.
>
> >>>>> Whatever the DVD format, this isn't of much relevance to Linux, but
> >>>>> Blu-Ray's win is a huge blow to Microsoft (primarily a financial blow) and
> >>>>> good news to a unit that can run Linux (live CD), have it installed, or
> >>>>> even _pre_installed for years to come.
>
> >>>> This HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray stuff never meant much to me. I barely
> >>>> traffic in audio CDs and DVDs these days. Too much computer fun!
>
> >>> Internet television is pretty nice. It's interactive, searchable,
> >>> recordable. As for HD DVD, that's going to cost Microsoft. It is already
> >>> trying to deny this because analysts predict kah-kah for XBox.
>
> >> How exactly is it going to hurt MS or the XBox? The xbox doesn't use
> >> HD-DVD for it's games. It was simply an addon unit, that you can buy.
> >> An addon, Roy. Not standard equipment.
>
> > PS3 sales will increase at XBox's expense (360 that is). PS3 does Blu-ray (just
> > stating the obvious here).
>
I'll note, that Mark probably won't see this reply - because he
plonked me. Looking back in the google record, it appears to me that
this happend sometime back in 2005, because he was accusing me of
nymshifting.. Something I have never done. What he was probably
latching on to was the fact that I was posting from multiple accounts
with different email addresses - though, I have always used my real
name and a real active email address. I still post through different
accounts depending on the box I'm on. I really need to get slrn setup
on this Vista box :)
> Shelton's spin is a kind of lightweight version of Erik or Timmy.
> Clearly, all those people who've bought HD-DVD drives will be seriously
> upset to find that they're useless. All that inventory in the channels
> which is now unsaleable is going to seriously upset the wholesalers and
> retailers. The companies which tooled-up factories to make the drives,
> presumably expecting to make a profit in later years, are going to be
> upset. And they're *all* going to be upset with Microsoft. Toshiba
> will never trust them again, of course, and Sony have a resounding and
> public win.
>
I would guess those people who bought those units, as well as the
manufactures, and even MS were early adopters, and well aware of the
fact that it was quite possible that HD-DVD might not survive. There
was only going to be one winner in this war. In the begining, it
looked as if HD-DVD would work out - but, in the end your it didn't.
Sony sold enough PS3's to reach a tipping point (it doesn't hurt that
they own some of the studios as well). I only know a couple of people
with a PS3, and the thing the mostly use it for is a Blu-Ray player.
So, your right - Sony will probably pick up a few sales because of
this win. But, I'm sure MS will be comming out with a blu-ray addon
for the 360 soon - and who knows, they may incorprate it into the next
Xbox 720 or come out with a new 360 elite :)
So, I believe that your are overstating the negative fallout. I could
be wrong.
> All those people who've bought PS3s will be running around claiming how
> smart they were, those who bought Xboxes will be embarrassed. The whole
> situation is a disaster for Microsoft, who've pushed hard to get
> traction into the "hollywood" space, and clearly failed miserably here,
> and for Toshiba, whose last set of customers will be unlikely to buy
> anything from them again.
>
I only know one person who actually bought the hd-dvd player for their
xbox (and I know a lot of people with xbox's) - so, I don't think all
those who bought an xbox are going to be embarrased. Everyone I know
that has one mostly uses it for playing games - or occasionally as a
dvd player, media center (streaming audio or video off of the
network). If they want to watch hd movies on it, they use their live
account - which if the rumored partnership with Netflix is true, will
only get better.
Again, I think you exagerate the effect this is going to have on the
overall console situation.
>
>
>
> >> I read last year that MS was already talking to some one (I can't
> >> remember who) about developing a blu-ray player addon for the xbox 360.
> >> There was a reason that MS didn't make the HD-DVD standard in the xbox -
> >> and that was because they didn't want to be tied to the format if it
> >> didn't take off.
>
> >> I think you'll find that in the end, the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray war was
> >> pointless. The future is in downloadable content. Apple TV, Comcast On
> >> Demand, XBox live, and Amazon. XBox live already has hd-content and is
> >> rumored to be partnering with Netflix - which should push their selection to
> >> over 7,000 movies/tv shows for on demand viewing. Nope, this format war
> >> was a destraction.
>
> > That's a theory that Jobs and other support. Some older-age people prefer
> > physical copies for the same reason many people prefer books (I personally
> > live paperless).
>
> Shelton Spin warning... "The last Microsoft strategic push failed, so
> now it was just a distraction, the /real/ push is next, honest guv, just
> around the corner - you'll see... The US$millions wasted really were
> just a distraction, hey, shareholders - pretend it didn't happen."
>
I'm not the only one saying it. It's a theory that makes sense. In
the begining they had some technical objections to the blu-ray
standard, centered around the encodings used - at least that is what
they claimed publicly. I wouldn't be suprised if the biggest
objection (was and still is) the use of Java in that standard - of
course they have never said that nor would I expect them to :) But,
another reason to pick hd-dvd was to mess with sony's head and to
prolong the format war as long as possible - until they got their live
download service fully baked. I think they would have been happy for
it to go on another year or so, but hey the best laid plans and all
that.
> Now, how often have we heard that from the Microsoft Shillcosystem here?
> Does anyone still believe that Shelton is anything other than a
> Microsoft Shill?
I'm sorry that you can't handle world views that differ from your own,
and are unable to engage in friendly conversation. I am not a MS
shill. I have never worked for MS, though I was an Microsoft MVP from
October 2003 to October 2006. I have never tried to hide that. I
freely admit that I like and use a lot of MS products - especially
their development tools. I make a fairly decent living at it as well
- though I don't claim the largess as some of the other windows devs
here (of course, I have 7 kids - so that maybe part of the reason :).
It may come as a suprise to you Mark, but I happen to also like and
use Linux. I really don't agree with all of the negative critisim.
Linux has come a long way in the last few years, and I am really
impressed. I think that it is a good thing that Linux is expanding
into the desktop. It's puts competive pressure on MS, and they will
either live or die by that sword. I believe that competition is a
good thing - and I do advocate linux when it seems to make sense to
me. When I was in my first job, I got the collection agency that was
our alpha site to put linux on a couple of collector desktops to try
out - and they really liked it. Unfortunately, due to a couple of
software decisions made at my company at the time, they ended up
having to stay with windows. I think if Mono had been at it's current
level then though, they would have dumped windows. I have even given
a pc loaded with kubuntu to a neighbor recently.
The point is Mark, that I try to maintain a balanced view of things.
So, forgive me if I don't worship at the penguine alter or pretend
that Linux is perfect for all occasions. Forgive me, if I don't try
and pretend that MS is another Enron on the verge of collapse -
because it's not. To be honest, the main reason I stick around this
place is simply for the entertainment value :)
Oh, and one last thing... I'm going to make a little plug about Mono
here (hey, since I've already been labled a shill, what do I have to
loose) - but I need to tell you that I know several .NET devs (being
one my self) that are starting to look at linux and even use it
because of Mono. I know that was really got me interested - though I
had some exposure and use as far back as about '96 (it never stuck
until I met gentoo). So, maybe you and Roy ought to stop wining about
"mono contamination" - because it really is attracting some interest
in the .NET community.
--
Tom Shelton
--
Tom Shelton
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